In Darwin, Divinity, and the Dance of the Cosmos, Bruce Sanguin shows
us the way to find a way to step back into the flow of nature from which we have extricated ourselves. Sanguin draws on the latest scientific understandings of
the nature of the universe and weaves them together with biblical
meta-narratives and frequently overlooked strands of the
Judeo-Christian tradition to create an ecological and truly
evolutionary Christian theology - a feat few theologians have even
attempted.

Fire who burns inside the mountain
Earth who feeds the trees
Sea who sprays up like a fountain
Wind who sighs the leaves
You, the source of inspiration
You the beauty bring
Yours, the power in creation
Yours, the praise we sing

Forgive us, we pray, our ignorance
And insecurities which
blind
us to your Thumbprint writ large,
deafen
us to the sacred space between
two heartbeats, prompt
us in arrogance to demand and dominate, numb
us to the destruction we've caused, hold
us hostage to "either-or" thinking and living.

May we
always walk gently upon this earth,
in
right relationship,
nurtured
by your Love,
taking
only what we need, giving
back to the earth in gratitude,
honoring
all with reverence,
reconciling
and healing,
mindful
of those who will come after,
recognizing
our proper place as part of,
not apart from, your creation.

Grant us
the strength and courage, we pray,
For such
radical transformation into your Kin-dom.

The we,
too, with the very stones will shout,

"HOSANNA."

In Memory of Thomas Berry

Thomas Berry, a Catholic priest and renowned eco-theologian who died early this month
was considered by many the father of evolutionary spirituality. He would not
have called it that because for him deep spirituality always resulted from the
awareness of our interconnectedness and interdependency of all creation. That
is what spirituality was for him. Berry will be best remembered for helping
the religious traditions to recognize the ecological crisis as a deeply
spiritual issue. The following is an excerpt from his article "The
Spirituality of the Earth" (1990):

"We need a spirituality that emerges out of a
reality deeper than ourselves, even deeper than life, a spirituality that is as
deep as the earth process itself, a spirituality born out of the solar system
and even out of the heavens beyond the solar system. There in the stars is
where the primordial elements take shape in both their physical and psychic
aspects. There is a certain triviality in any spiritual discipline that does
not experience itself as supported by the spiritual as well as the physical
dynamics of the entire cosmic-earth process. A spirituality is a mode of being
in which not only the divine and the human commune with each other, but we
discover ourselves in the universe and the universe discovers itself in us."

Greetings!

There are a lot of reasons why I am glad my wife and I moved
to the Pacific Northwest nearly five years ago. They are too numerous to list.
We both love the outdoors and the beauty here. We will not live long enough to
take advantage of all of the natural treasures that exist within a short drive
from our home, let alone our own island. If you want to hike, ski, kayak, water
ski, or sit quietly in the rain forest, it is all here. We are surrounded by a
body of water called the Puget Sound with the Cascade Mountains on one side and
the Olympic Mountains on the other. If one has the eyes to see, the scenery is
glorious and is a constantly changing panorama of visual delights. I say, "If
one has the eyes to see" because we have discovered that some people just do
not see the same things that we see or, for that matter, hear the same things
that we hear. Although it sometimes surprises us, we have learned to accept
that... You see, the real reason I love it here is that I have
become reconnected to nature and the earth.

Ecology, Spirituality, and the Evolution
of ConsciousnessExcerpts from a keynote talk by Bruce Sanguin The Great Turning, May 23,
2009

It is my task to speak on ecology, spirituality,
and the evolution of consciousness. My intention is to describe the
characteristics of an ecological spirituality be for the 21st
century. Such a spirituality would transcend, yet include, all traditional
religious expressions of spirituality. Each religious tradition, including my
own - Christianity - is faced with the challenge of interpreting this
ecological crisis through the lens of its tradition and mobilizing its
constituency to take action. We either do this, or risk irrelevance. This is
what I set out to do in my book, Darwin, Divinity, and the Dance of the Cosmos: An Ecological Christianity.

When looked at through an ecological lens, it's
not difficult to identify the human species in the 21st century with
the younger son. In the last three hundred years during the modern era we have
impetuously demanded the inheritance of a 14 billion-year universe, left home -
the planet earth - and squandered the gift. We are now suffering the indignity
of our arrogance, living in a state of exile from our own planet, and causing
the degradation of biosystems, and the extinction of other species. We are
yearning to return home. Our confession is born of deep lament. Our desire is
to return home. One of the key features of the parable is that the son
willingly offers to change his status from privileged son to hired servant. His
journey home was the path from arrogance to humility. So, the question of the
21st century in the ecozoic era is whether we are willing to walk
this same path home. Are we willing to change our status from the entitled ones
to willing servants of the one earth community? Are we ready as the prodigal
species to "come to our senses"? READ ON

You long to be a part of something greater than yourself; whether it's a
vision or a movement or a God. You long to know that this collective energy is
more steady than an economic crisis, unmoved by the worst flu, unshaken by
global warming, and unflinching in the face of personal traumas. You can't add
to or subtract from this collective energy. It is infinite, and all you need to
do is remember that you part of it. At the same time, you long to know that
your life makes a difference; that your actions of love do matter.

I'm here to tell you that both things are true, and both things are true for
the backyard that is this nation as well. What happens in this national
backyard affects and is affected by what happens right around the planet.

It is of great urgency to utilize the
insights of the world's religions for helping to solve the global ecologic
crisis. The World Council of Churches has had for a long time a program
on forming a just and sustainable society, but, as yet, very little has
trickled down to the churches. Theologians have not addressed themselves to the
fact that religious beliefs had not kept pace with the radical transformation
of society, and, as a result, the churches have had very little to say on the
environmental issue.

Western organized religions remain without
any dominant ethic of the environment and little
inspiration in this respect flows from their teachings. Various responses to
the ecological crisis have already been given from the perspective of different
religious traditions, but specific proposals seem too partial and palliative.
Without religion, neither science nor technology are going to get us out of the
present ecologic crisis, nor will atavism or prettification. No one yet knows how to deal with the problem effectively. It appears that in
our effort to seek a new relationship with the natural world we have to find a
new religion. A religion that will help us recapture much of the respect and
reverence which earlier generations had for the natural world.

Not honor, only human connectedness will save us. And it
will not appear in a blast of glory at the end of times by way of the coming
of the Jewish Messiah or the Shiite Mahdi or the second
coming of Jesus Christ. These and all other such apocalyptic
religious images are cynical. They are suicidal. They spell the end of our
species on this planet. Only by casting off religious beliefs such as these can
we be saved.

The forces of change pressing in on our country and our
planet are far reaching. Deadly geopolitical stresses and strains are rising.
The self sustaining viability of past economic, political and religious beliefs
that successfully supported our American framework in the past is now being
tested. In addition, we are now starting to see the deadly ecological outcomes
of our myopic intransigence. READ ON

Hope for Environmental StewardshipBy: Gary Wilburn

As I write this, it was just disclosed that by an internal draft of The
United States Climate Report to the United Nations that our passive tolerance
of this clear and present danger to the earth is unconscionable and
unacceptable. What in the Name of God
are we doing to God's Creation?
"The earth is the Lord's," said the Psalmist, "and all that is in it." "The
heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims his
handiwork."

I am fully aware that 2,000 years ago Jesus hadn't even heard of global
warming and nuclear weapons. However, his teachings and his lifestyle were in
direct opposition to all attempts in every age to exploit the weak, the poor,
human life and nature itself.READ ON

We found this beautiful and inspiring blog while searching for thoughts on ecology and religion and we love it. Enjoy and make sure to read on!

As my eyes opened this day..and again awakened into a new
morning, the thought arose in my mind: ''I am part of all of this''....and
I smiled! My heart is most grateful...for every experience lived, I know Love and
its living Source. I can walk, run, dance and hop,...I can breathe...I can
breathe..not only that! I can smell and detect the exquisite fragrances and
scents of flowers...my favorite magical children of the earth...they are
children in disguises ..you know?

Have you noticed their smiley faces? They are healing..as soon as you hold them
in your hands..their love essence permeates thru, into your hearts with a deep
peace, their aroma delight your nostrils..your soul!...And I can taste..oh the taste of mangos with lime..what a delight! Or
the delicious taste of a chirimoya fruit..or a lucuma..food for the
God's that we are! Truly blessed we are...a taste of a ripe fig oh
my..white peaches, a fresh picked tomatoe...ahhh I love fruits and all
that grows from the earth! I can taste the sweet as well as bitter,
sour and can choose which to like!

Feel that the abundance of the earth is great...and all that is green vibrates
with life and love!

Thank you for taking this journey with us as
we continue to encourage the growth and understanding of a Christianity that is
open, inclusive, just, loving and compassionate. As you delve deeper into
the heart of this beautiful and authentic spiritual path, we hope you share it
with those around you, educate those who desire to learn, and most importantly
let it fill you with light and loving kindness.

Sincerely,

Fred Plumer
and the Team at The Center For Progressive Christianity

center@tcpc.org, (253) 303-0022

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